This Guinness Irish beef stew is the ultimate comfort food and perfect for this St.Patrick’s Day. So easy to make in one pot and the kind of food you want on a cold day.
At the end of 2016 everyone was so ready to have the year be done with. As if magically the first day of January everything would be better.
I didn’t really think 2016 was so bad, not enough to warrant it marked as the worst year ever. But let me tell you January 2017 really sucked.
Winter has been tough emotionally. Things have been weighing on my mind.
I’ve really struggled to be productive and I have this all around sense of feeling low.
Oddly enough even though I’ve shared my deepest fears on this site for the last 7 years I often don’t write until I’m on the other side with some perspective.
January has been dark, February isn’t so hot and I’m just waiting for the light.
Maybe March will be better.
Although I’d call myself an extrovert when I’m feeling low I tend to isolate myself.
There have been many times in my life where I haven’t left the house in days and it doesn’t really bother me.
Maybe that’s why I love cooking so much. I can stay inside and brood yet achieve something.
Although I had big plans to accomplish today someone mentioned there was a “puking flu” was going around.
Suddenly a wave of hypochondriac nausea flooded my body. Maybe I have it? Maybe I need to go home?
So I did.
But before that I stopped to pick up some stewing beef. Even on dark days I feel a greater sense of needing to make sure we’re both eating real food.
Stews remind me of when I was young and I never really appreciated them. Perhaps because my grandmother was a terrible cook.
She could cook a mean Nova Scotia chowder but almost all of the other food was horribly bland – I blame her Scottish roots.
But her stew didn’t have beer…or really any seasoning.
Ireland does make great comfort food. I did have a great time eating at restaurants in Dublin and even though everyone says Dublin isn’t Ireland I had a great time.
Who doesn’t love meat and potatoes every now and then?
Love one-pot recipes? Check out this easy French cassoulet recipe.
Stew is really a lot art in North America. It doesn’t need to be heavy with beef or pork. In fact this stew has lots of great root vegetables.
Normally I like a tomato based stew but I wanted to switch it up so this Irish beef stew uses Guinness to create a deep flavour perfect for dark days.
They key to a great stew is the sauce, it needs to be hearty like a gravy and thick enough to stick to your ribs.
Using tomatoes as a base for sauce helps as they reduce into a thickened sauce.
But as stock and Guinness are the base for this Irish beef stew it needs a bit of chef help.
3 Easy Ways to Thicken Stew
- Take 1/3 of the root vegetables and puree them when the dish is done and add them back into the stew. This is my favourite because it’s the easiest but Dave prefers a more classic French technique.
- Beurre Manié – it translates to kneaded butter. Take equal parts room temperature butter and flour and mix together either with your hands or with a whisk. The butter coats the flour and allows it to thicken the stew while giving it a rich buttery taste. However, the key is to make sure that the flour and butter are thoroughly mixed like a soft paste. This recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons of each and I think it’s easier to do with your hands.
- Thicken with a mix of cornstarch and water. Take a cup of the stew liquid and add a tablespoon of corn starch to it. Mix thoroughly before adding to stew.
It’s a bit more work to use Guinness but I like the tart element and it really brings out the flavour of beef and gives it a rich flavour.
Guinness Irish Beef Stew
This recipe is lighter than you think, while it is an Irish beef stew it is mostly carrot, celery and parsnips.
Mushrooms would also be great here, that’s the wonderful thing about stew, you can look in your fridge and use whatever you have on hand.
If you want to add potato I would cut back a carrot and parsnip. I didn’t have any and was feeling parsnipy 🙂
This can also be cooked in a slow cooker. Simply follow until step 4 and place all ingredients in a slow cooker for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high.
This stew is great on its own and served with crusty bread.
Traditionally Irish beef stew is served on mashed potatoes and is a great option for those with a larger appetite.
Guinness Irish Beef Stew
This Guinness Irish beef stew is the ultimate comfort food and perfect for this St.Patrick’s Day. So easy to make in one pot and the kind of food you want on a cold day.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp canola oil
- 2 lbs beef, stew meat cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 large carrots large dice
- 3 large parsnips large dice
- 2 large celery stalks cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup Guinness or another stout
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F.
- In a large bowl, toss beef with 1/3 cup of all purpose flour, salt and pepper to lightly coat.
- Heat a heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil until it shimmers . Once hot brown beef on all sides, you may have to do this in batches so you don't crowd the pot. Ensure it is well browned, it should take 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat two more tablespoons of canola oil over medium heat, add onion and cook 1 minute, add garlic and cook 30 seconds or until you can smell garlic flavour. Add carrots, parsnips, celery, cook two minutes. Add tomato paste and cook one minute.
- Add beef, broth, Guinness, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. It should just cover ingredients, if not add a bit more beef broth. Scrape any browned bits from bottom of pot. Bring to a simmer.
- Transfer to oven. Cook for 1.5 hours with lid on but turned perpendicular so steam can escape and stew can reduce.
- Add beurre manié (2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons all purpose flour) and cook for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
Notes
This can also be cooked in a slow cooker. Simply follow until step 4 and place all ingredients in a slow cooker for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 Amount Per Serving: Calories: 287Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 445mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 27gNutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although BaconisMagic.ca attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Pin it For Later: Irish Beef Stew
Perfect dish for a cold winter night! A Guinness Stew served with a nice Guinness what else can bring you back alive on a cold evening? Nada! Nice post!
I know what you mean by a tough January. I felt the same. February has been frustrating too, but recipes like this warm my heart. I think the perfect dessert to this stew are Guinness Brownies! Take good care now.
Sorry you have had such a bad couple of months – hope March is brighter!I love your idea of adding pureed veggies to thicken stew – I have never tried that. I’m not much of a stew girl. But I have never made stew with beer and now I totally want to try it now! Pinning…
I love a good Irish Beef Stew. The fact that this one includes Guinness simply makes it that much better! The perfect soup to have simmer away on a cold winters day and then feast on as it storms outside!
Well Ayngelina, you know this stew is RIGHT up my alley. I’m sorry you’ve been having a tough time this Winter. Me too, to be honest. I have high hopes for March though. Starting with your stew. Totally pinning for later.
Take care of you!!
Oh yum! This might be what I make for St Patty’s day!
I’m not a big fan of Guinness on its own, but I might like it better when it’s cooked into a stew. Besides, butter makes everything taste better, right? 🙂
I also dislike Guinness but when it’s used in the stew it just leaves a tartness rather than a heavy stout flavour. I guess it would be similar to anchovies leave a saltiness but not fishiness when cooking with them.
Good to know!
I’m not a big fan of Guinness to drink but in a stew like this? Wonderful. I hear you on January and February 2017. Not a fan and can’t wait for Feb to be over. I also hear you on being a bit of an introvert at heart. Nothing I love more than to say in and cook and bake. This recipe fits the bill for a cold grey Feb day.
I started to say sorry to hear that you’d been feeling low lately, but then I did a double-take and realized you were re-sharing an old post lol. The stew sure does look amazing, so no wonder you shared it again. (and lucky for me since I missed it the first time around). Also–glad things have been looking up for ya this year. I’ve got Irish blood in my veins, so I’m gonna give this recipe a try!
See thanks for the comment. I wanted to share the post again because last year was really tough and I feel sad for the person I was a year ago but also happy that feels like another person. This year I couldn’t be happier.